My personal favorite were the carrots. I typically will buy the pre-packaged/pre-washed baby carrot variety at the supermarket. These carrots were MUCH better….a little more effort at mealtime but well worth it.

Another great thing about a “local box” is that it introduces you to new fruits and veggies that you may not have tried before. Which encourages you to try new recipes (they also include a few recipes with your order that incorporate the produce in your box) Both the microgreens and the white radishes were new to me and unique items that I have never received in a share from any local co-op.

The bin that the produce arrives in is chilled and very clean. They even offer a service to place your bin right inside your front door. {Which can come in quite handy in the middle of the summer when some produce doesn’t stand a chance in the hot Houston weather}

The bin is also large enough to accommodate multiple other items that Greenling offers. I think they offer pretty much anything you would need to eat a well-balanced diet.

They keep with a sustainable focus by picking up your bin when they drop off a new order, or you can call them and have them pick up the bin sooner. {Read no excess boxes}

Greenling has a very informative website and they also include a good explanation of their service and networks with your order.

Overall, I was impressed with the Greenling service and plan to place future orders.

The only thing that I would have done differently was to tip the delivery driver…which I intended to do but my sweet little Murphy dog jet setted out the front door as my order was delivered and I didn’t have time to grab the tip before the delivery driver was off to make another delivery. {Next Time}

*The Greenling Local Box mentioned in this post was compliments of Greenling. All comments and opinions are my own.

January was {Houston} Texas Foodie Penpals month for me. I sent a package to a Houston lady AND my package came from a Houston lady (technically The Woodlands but for all intensive purposes that is Houston)

This month I sent some goodies to Michelle Stojanik. Michelle doesn’t have a blog but she does have a business and you can check her out here.

My goodies came from Esther and you can check her out at Pink and Purple Lemonade. Thank You Esther for all of the treats!!!

So if it wasn’t ironic enough that in a nationwide Penpals program I was paired with {Houston} Texas girls on both sides….All of the items that I sent to Michelle were from Trader Joe’s (They just opened a few stores here in Houston….Texas in general has been ruled by Whole Foods….so this was kind of a big deal) AND all of the items that Esther sent to me were from Trader Joe’s {well actually all except for some lovely homemade banana bread}

I had never tried any of these goodies before {which is one of my favorite things about this program}

If you are interested in joining Foodie Penpals you should head over to The Lean Green Bean and sign up :)

I recently participated in a 5k Color Run with my good friend Amanda. Who just had a baby about 12 weeks ago but you wouldn’t know that from any of these pictures or her running pace. This wasn’t a timed run and the only suggestions was to wear white. They gave you a white T-shirt at the packet pick-up and your color choice of super fashionable sunglasses :) Amanda and I both chose pink and we didn’t even go to packet pick-up together.

At the color stations they have multiple people throwing different color powders on you as you run. This is a post run shot of my shoes…

{Disclaimer} Everything washed out after the run and fun was had by all :) I would recommend having a change of clothes or a towel to throw over your seat for the ride home.

You should consider attending a Color Run it is a family friendly fun event.

{Big Thank You} as always to Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean for organizing this great program. It has really been a treat! I love meeting new people and trying new foodie finds :)

This month I sent some goodies over to Sarah at The Food We Make, she is a baker type and has some great recipes on her blog.

My goodies this month came from Jennifer Cowley from Utah. (she doesn’t blog, but she puts together an excellent Foodie Penpals package) {Thank You Jennifer!}

This was what greeted me when I opened my package {Smile}

Who doesn’t love cocoa…we don’t really get too much cold weather here in Houston BUT that doesn’t mean that I don’t love a yummy warm beverage. I feel that if it is under 80 degrees warm drinks are fair game anytime of day.

I haven’t decided the exact moment to break into this Utah Truffle bar BUT I have picked it up at least 3 times in consideration :) I was thinking of going Midwestern Bite style and creating a baked good with some of my Foodie Penpal goodies and spreading the love. She actually uses her entire box of goodies to create a meal “chopped style”….but I was thinking this bar might be good chopped up and sprinkled over some homemade brownies. The sesame Bar reminds me of the Bumble Bars that I was introduced to from Tara over at Healthy Diva on the Run.

This salsa seems really seasonal….and it is made in Utah! I haven’t decided if it is better with tortilla chips or a topper to cheese and crackers….

I have seen this in the grocery stores here before but I have never tried it…I am going to try this ‘Texas Butta’ Marinade with some chicken this weekend…Mmmm

Jennifer had me at ‘Quick Dishes’ which I also love. I’m a fan of “gourmet type food” but I more often have a need for Quick meals that aren’t too complicated {read not too many ingredients or too much time}….or I end up eating A LOT of cereal or toast for dinner :)

Thanks again Jennifer for all of the goodies!

If you would like more information about Foodie Penpals you can check it out here. For the month of December Lindsay is asking everyone to forgo the typical goodie exchange and opt to donate $ to a Hurricane Sandy Charity. The regularly scheduled Foodie Penpals will be back in January!

I recently went to a great gin event at Brennan’s in Houston. It was actually the ‘Hendrick’s Gin Academy’ and I didn’t know what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised.

When I first showed up they handed me a coffee cup which seemed to be straight gin with ice and a cucumber slice. Not a big straight gin drinker but it was a nice way to set the mood serving the first cocktail in a non-traditional cup that promotes sipping versus gulping :) …not to mention that Hendrick’s is just fine for sipping straight. {There was plenty more gin to be had throughout the evening}

After our first cocktail we all went into another room that was set up with round tables of 10 and everyone had the above setting….at which point I knew this was going to be a serious hands on experience.

{I apologize for the terrible photo…my phone wasn’t working properly and has since completely gone on the fritz} :(

This was our host/professor for the evening {I think her name was Jenny, but I could have made that up}

She walked us all through the history of Hendrick’s and the gin making process…which she covered VERY quickly and it was interesting. Hendrick’s was actually the name of the gardener of the founder of Hendrick’s

Our first drink of the evening {and my favorite} was the Cucumber Cooler which I was introduced to Elderflower liqueur…which is Amazing….and pairs great with Hendrick’s because Elderflower is one of the botanicals used in the Hendrick’s Gin making process.

The finished product!

The second third cocktail of the evening was the fresh Cucumber Lemonade which was a table favorite but I really prefer the smooth/light Cucumber Cooler.

….let me note that both of these are worth trying.

For the last cocktail they brought out this guy with a HUGE block of ice and we made a “punch” which had a number of things in it and I can’t remember 1/2 of them and it was by far my least favorite….but that could have something to do with the fact that I had 3 cocktails and no dinner at this point in the evening… “Jenny” sold the punch as a good party activity for guests to make together….which seems like a good idea but it also seems like a waste of perfectly good gin :)

Fellow Gin aficionado…

New Friends…

Overall, it was a great evening and quite educational. I would suggest having a Cucumber Cooler….Thankfully they gave us a handy-dandy guide to remind us of all the cocktails of the evening.

First, a Big {Thank You} to Lindsay over at The Lean Green Bean! (Foodie Penpals is her brain child)

This month I sent a package to Joanna over at Midwestern Bite she does a “chopped” activity with her goodies and it is very interesting and it looks really yummy. {Check it out and show her some love}

My package came from Traci over at Cooking with Traci she is newer to Foodie Penpals and a great addition! Thank You for all of the wonderful goodies Traci!

Somehow I get paired with the most fabulous Foodie Penpals who send me an excellent mix of sweet and salty.

Here are the goods:

Cheesy Puffcorn {which is great anytime of day} and Old School potato chips which make an excellent side to an Old School Turkey Sandwich

Candy!!! The top item is Chocolate Covered Sunflower Seeds {which are wonderful and I have already purchased some more from my local whole foods} Traci purchased the assorted chocolate candy at a local candy store, and as I am writing this I just realized that I still have the butterfinger pumpkin in the cabinet….hold on….I will be right back…….ok now I am enjoying the pumpkin while I finish this post :) Yum

{Read} pumpkin spice coffee….delish!

Traci also included a sweet note AND a recipe for Ohio Buckeye Candy! I haven’t tried this recipe yet but it will happen over the holidays!

Thank You again Traci for all of my yummy treats! If you would like to join Foodie Penpals or you just want more information head over to The Lean Green Bean and check it out.

Who doesn’t love Splenda I for one don’t really think that sugar substitutes are very “natural” with that said I have a HUGE sweet tooth and I think that sugar substitutes serve a purpose and Splenda and now Nectresse are fabulous.

For sampling purposes I tried these in my daily java and they didn’t disappoint. I felt like Nectresse had a slight citrus flavor (which is a nice addition to coffee). I love citrus so this was a good thing for me. I haven’t seen this in my grocery store but I am sure they will start carrying it soon. (hint, hint)

Two of my favorites Coffee and Library Books :)

I hope to find this in the baking package variety that they offer in the Splenda version.

I would recommend giving Nectresse a try BUT I still don’t think sugar substitutes are “Natural” just my two cents. :)

*Product was received complimentary from Influenster | All opinions are my own*